


boys go to jupiter

by mulderbaby



Series: Fictober 2020 [16]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Domestic Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mulderbaby/pseuds/mulderbaby
Summary: Fictober Day 24Prompt: “I trust you” + prompt request for mean boys at school telling Emily she can’t go into a STEM related career feat. protective Mulder
Relationships: Dana Scully & Emily Sim, Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder & Emily Sim, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Emily Sim
Series: Fictober 2020 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980989
Kudos: 41





	boys go to jupiter

Scully can’t help but notice that her daughter has been rather quiet during the drive home from school. She hadn’t been able to spend much time with her due to her and Mulder’s case load as of late, and she worried that perhaps her strong-willed and stubborn little girl was giving her the silent treatment as payback. Although she had been very understanding about Scully being away so frequently in the last two weeks, Scully remembered what it was like when her father would be away for extended periods of time, how she would miss him. She didn’t want to be the kind of parent that was never around.

That’s why today, after she had expressed her concerns to Mulder, he insisted that she head out early so that she could pick up Emily from school and spend time with her. That is, after assuring her with such respect and tenderness in his voice that she is an incredible mom, even if she can’t be around all the time.

“Em?” She glances at her daughter in the rearview mirror, trying to gauge how she is feeling, and discern what the cause of her foul mood is.

“What?” She huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Do you wanna tell me what’s going on with you today?” She inquires, doing her best to keep her eyes on the road while simultaneously observing her daughter’s body language and facial expressions in the backseat.

“It doesn’t even matter, mommy.” She says in a small voice, shifting her gaze out the window to avoid eye contact with her mother.

“I’d say it matters a lot.” Scully pauses for a moment as they reach a red light. “You know you can talk to me? That’s what mommies are here for.”

The younger girl just shakes her head and Scully sighs in defeat as the light turns green again.

The rest of the ride back to their apartment is painfully silent, and Emily goes straight to her room when they get inside. At this point, Scully fears the worst. Fears that Emily is upset as a result of her absence lately, or worse, that she sees her as a bad mom. She can’t bear the thought.

Setting her purse down on the counter, she decides to give her daughter some space before going in there to get to the bottom of whatever has made her so upset.

Thirty minutes later, once she has had the chance to shower and change into more comfortable clothes, Scully approaches her daughter’s bedroom slowly, knocking gently on the door to let her daughter know she is coming in. However, she is not at all prepared for what she sees. Emily is curled up on her side, her face buried in a pillow, the covering of which is stained with tears, a sight that breaks Scully’s heart into millions of tiny pieces as tears begin to prick at the corner of her eyes.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she moves to sit on the edge of the bed, stroking her daughter’s back gently in an effort to soothe her as best she could.

“My sweet girl.” She leans in to press a kiss into Emily’s soft hair, causing her to roll over to face Scully, her eyes red from crying and tears running down her cheeks.

“People are mean, mommy..” She says in a whimper and Scully pulls her daughter close, letting her cry into the t-shirt of Mulder’s she had just put on, cursing whoever had dared hurt her little girl like this.

“Will you tell me what happened? Please?” She pleads, wanting to provide her daughter with whatever comfort and reassurance she might need.

Emily collects herself, taking a deep breath and pulling back to look into her mother’s concerned eyes.

“Why can’t I be a doctor like you, Mommy?” Her lip quivers as she speaks and Scully, troubled by this question, pushes a piece of stray hair away from her face.

“Who says you can’t, honey?”

“The boys at school..” She wipes at her eyes as more tears threaten. “They said I can’t ever be a doctor.. You know, because I’m a girl.” 

Scully frowns, shaking her head and reaching for her daughter’s hand.

“Being a girl doesn’t mean you can’t be a doctor, Em. You can be anything you want.” She gives her daughter a reassuring smile, but the younger girl does not look even the slightest bit reassured.

“Yeah, easy for you to say.” She pouts, blinking back a sea full of tears.

“Why’s that?”

“Um, because you are a girl.”

Scully furrows her brow at her daughter’s reasoning, but obliges her nonetheless.

“What are you saying, Emily?”

“I’m saying, mommy, you’re biased.”

Scully chuckles slightly, wondering where her daughter learned that word.

“It’s not funny, mommy!” She starts to cry again but Scully tilts her chin up gently.

“Are you saying that you don’t think you can be a doctor, just because those silly boys said so?”

Emily frowns, tucking her chin and nodding as a couple more tears roll down her cheeks.

“Why don’t boys think girls can be doctors, mommy?”

Scully purses her lips slightly, and then an idea strikes her.

“I’m sure not all boys think that, Em.”

Her daughter raises a curious eyebrow at her.

“How can you be sure, mommy?”

Scully smiles at her daughter’s skepticism. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.  
“How about I prove it to you?”

\------------

Mulder is beyond anxious. Riddled with concern for Emily, and for Scully, regardless of the twenty times she had assured him during their phone call that everything was going to be okay.

He knocks on the door and is shortly greeted by Scully, who he instantly can tell had been crying at one point or another tonight.

“Scully, what’s going on? Where’s Em?”

Sensing the panic in his voice as he closes the door behind him, she leans up and presses a gentle kiss against his lips which shuts him up instantly as he smiles against her mouth, pulling her closer, his hand on the small of her back.

“Hi.” She says in a sultry voice, giving him a flirty smile which he returns with a grin of his own as she brushes her fingertips against his chest through his work shirt.

“Hi.” He says happily, all the more curious as to the nature of the invite.

“Thank you for being here.” She says softly, her eyes full of sincerity and gratitude.

“Hey..” He takes her petite hand in his own, squeezing it affectionately. “Always.” He murmurs, stealing a quick kiss, earning a grateful smile from her. “You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

She giggles at this, tugging his hand, leading him toward Emily’s room, but stopping him before they get close enough to eavesdropping range.

“Not funny, Scully. I’m getting to that age, you know.”

She shakes her head in disbelief, giving him a playful shove. “Shut up, Mulder.”

“Only teasing.” He grins down at her. “What’s up with Em?”

“Today some of the boys at her school told her that she couldn’t be a doctor, since she’s a girl.”

Scully explains, watching Mulder’s eyes darken as a scowl forms across his lips.

“Who the hell do they think they are?” He leans in close to her, practically whispering in her ear so as not to let Emily overhear them.

“I don’t really know what’s gotten into her Mulder. But she won't listen to me. She says I’m biased because I, too, am a girl.”

Mulder’s brow furrows slightly, putting the pieces together.

“Enter you..” She purses her lips, looking up at him with a glimmer of hope in her eyes and a silent plea written across the features of her face.

He nods slowly, realizing what it is she is asking of him. Not that it really mattered, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her, whether she asked or not.

“Enter me.” He strokes his thumb over her knuckles, giving her a little smile and seeing the relief wash over her. “You coming in there with me?”

It’s more of a statement than a question, she figures, giving him a little smile of her own before leading him the rest of the way to Emily’s room, again knocking before entering.

“Hey Em? This strange man came to the door looking for you. Said he needed to talk to you about something important.”

Emily rolled over onto her back, her eyes lighting up a little when she saw Mulder there.

“Hey kiddo.”

“Hi Mulder.” She smiles softly up at him as he makes his way over to the bed, Scully following behind him.

“Mind if I sit with you?”

Her response comes in the form of her patting the space beside her, scooting to the side to make room for him in the rather small bed. She giggles as he plops himself down beside her, nearly making her bounce up off the bed.

“Mulder! You are too big for this bed, mister.” She scolds and Scully smiles to herself at the way he’s already made her smile more than she’d seen in the last 24 hours. He certainly has a way with her, she muses, climbing over Mulder’s long legs to sit on the foot of the bed with them.

“Too bad.” He shrugs with a mischievous grin. “Comfy bed. Maybe I’ll fall asleep here.” He pretends to yawn and shuts his eyes contently, earning him a playful punch from his mini-Scully.

“Emily! Do not hit Mulder!”

“Hey, you just hit me in the hallway! But she packs a stronger punch than you.” He snickers and this time Scully is the one to deliver the playful blow, smacking his shin, earning a dramatic yelp from him, followed by a pout. Scully shakes her head in amusement, in awe of the way her lover and her daughter are like two peas in a pod.

“So what’s got ya down, crazy kid?” He glances at Scully, loving the joy that now radiates across her features, before giving Emily his undivided attention.

“The boys at school told me that girls can’t be doctors, Mulder.” She sighs regretfully and Mulder gives her a puzzled look, raising one eyebrow, making her giggle a little.

“And here I thought you were the crazy one.”

“Mulder?” She looks up at him thoughtfully.

“Mhm?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Go for it, Em.”

“Do you think girls can be doctors?”

He smiles at the innocence in her voice, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“I think girls can be amazing doctors.” He says, giving Scully a wink which she returns with a blush and a shy smirk, before looking back down at Emily. “I know they can, actually.”

Emily gazes inquisitively at him, pondering his words.

“Can you tell the boys at my school that?”

He grins at her. “I don’t think so, but you sure can.”

Her forehead wrinkles up as she gives him a skeptical look.

“What am i s’posed to say to them?”

Mulder looks up at the ceiling, scratching his chin as though in deep thought.

“How about ‘girls go to college to get more knowledge, boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider’?”

Emily bursts out in laughter and Scully’s eyes widen at him. “Mulder! Emily, do not say that.” She says, attempting to be stern in her warning but failing miserably, unable to stop the fit of laughter that escapes her as she falls back on the bed so that she and Mulder are on either side of Emily.

“But mommy, that’s funny! You’re so funny, Mulder.” She beams up at him.

“Why, thank you.” He says appreciatively before grinning at Scully, who is shaking her head in disbelief.

“Seriously though, Em. You probably shouldn’t say that at school. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble or anything.”

She slumps her shoulders, pouting at him. “What if I just tell them boys go to Jupiter?” She grins mischievously at him and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“How about this? You tell them that you, Emily Scully, are going to be the best doctor the world has ever seen.”

She gives him a bashful look.

“Come on, let’s hear it. Pretend I’m one of those boys from Jupiter.” He urges before making a silly face at her which makes Scully laugh too.

“Oh yeah, Em. Look how silly he is. You tell him.”

She takes a deep breath, a look of confidence on her face as she looks right into his eyes.

“I, Emily Scully, am going to be the best doctor the world has ever seen.” She says with pride and it floods both Mulder’s and Scully’s hearts with joy.

“That’s my girl.” Mulder grins, giving her a wink. “You’ll knock ‘em all the way back to Jupiter with that one.”

Emily smiles happily at him before scooting closer to give him a hug, her fingertips barely able to meet as they wrap around him. “Are you sure that’ll work, Mulder?” She mumbles against his tie and he smiles gently.

“I know it will. Just trust me.”

She lifts her head, peeking up at him curiously. 

“Right, mommy?” He muses and Emily turns to look at Scully.

“Yeah.” She smiles sweetly. “Trust him, Em.”

Emily gives it a moment of thought before turning back to Mulder.

“Okay Mulder. I trust you.” He smiles, saying nothing as she curls back up against him. He presses a kiss to the top of her head, making Scully’s eyes well up with tears as she scoots closer to them so that she can hold both her daughter and her Mulder, the three of them tangled up in a cocoon of warmth and happiness.

“Mommy, can Mulder stay with us tonight?” Emily asks hopefully, a sparkle in her eye as she peaks her head up between the two of them.

“You’ll have to ask him that, honey.” She glances over at Mulder, who gives her a little smirk as Emily looks up at him.

“Mulder pleeease will you stay?”

Scully chuckles lightly at her daughter’s eagerness and Mulder grins knowingly at her.

“As long as it’s okay with your beautiful mother.”

Emily grins, turning back to Scully, who blushes slightly, a satisfied smile playing at her lips.

“Under one condition, missy.”

Mulder and Emily both give her curious looks, Mulder’s morphing into one of fascination as he watches Scully climb over the two of them so that she can snuggle up against his other side.

“You’re gonna have to share him with me.” She says matter-of-factly and Mulder grins, shifting onto his back so that there’s an arm for each of them.

“G’night Mulder. Night mommy. No kissing in my bed!” She warns, earning laughs from both of them.

"Sorry Em, no promises there.” Mulder apologizes before leaning over to press a gentle kiss against Scully’s lips, making her sigh happily. 

“Mulder! Gross!” 

“Go to sleep, you crazy.” 

“Why, so you guys can keep kissing? No way, you crazy!”

“Emily.” Scully peeks over Mulder’s chest at her daughter.

“Yes, mommy?” 

“I love you very much. But it’s time for you to get some sleep.” Her daughter gives her a shy smile before shutting her eyes obediently. 

“Good night mommy. I love you.” She murmurs and Scully smiles at her and then up at Mulder.

“I love you even more, Em.”

“Love you Mulder.” She squeezes him and he feels his heart swell as tears prick at his eyes. 

“I love you too. You’re going to make an amazing doctor one day.” He says, watching the smile creep across her lips before turning to Scully. “Just like mommy.” He murmurs gently and Scully leans up to kiss him as she blinks back tears. “I love you.” He says, voice whisper soft as she settles against his side.

“Mulder?” She whispers into the crook of his neck and he mumbles into her hair in response.

“mhm?”

“I love you most.” 

\---


End file.
